Little Colonel Playhouse has a delightful production for you this week, from the creator of Six Feet Under and True Blood, and it’s a play that shares some of the sensibilities of those two hit TV shows. Five Women Wearing the Same Dress by Alan Ball sustains an attitude of hilarity with a few moments of drama and heft, and it’s only the final scenes that make it less than a perfect production.

The story takes place during a wedding reception, in the home of the unseen bride, Tracy. The five bridesmaids congregate in the upstairs bedroom of Meredith (Chelsey Jackson), the sister of the bride. They have all, for one reason or another, had their fill of the festivities. Eventually they come to realize that, despite many differences, they have more in common with each other than they do with the bride.

Director Jeff Mangum has done a wonderful job getting all five actresses to turn in amazing performances. Jackson really lets us see under Meredith’s tough exterior to see the pain she is hiding, as a late revelation makes abundantly clear. Meghan Logue is utterly believable as the Bible-thumping Frances, a role that could put off audiences if played wrong, but she manages to elicit our sympathy. Kelly Kapp nearly steals the show as no-nonsense Trisha, the girl with a bad reputation. Jayme Thomas’s Georgeanne may be the most fun character to watch, endlessly obsessing over the man that got away, her failing marriage, and her attempts at weight loss, all delivered in hilarious comedic fashion. And Susan Crocker is an absolute joy as the groom’s outspoken lesbian sister that no one quite knows how to take.

My only quibble with the play is with the script itself; while I have no issue with some dramatic twists along the way to keep the comedy from becoming too cloying, the story does take some ugly turns that seem to come from another play altogether. Pedophilia suddenly enters the storyline, and that subplot never really resolves itself; and toward the end Ball brings casual cocaine use into the tale and the script takes the attitude that it’s all no big deal. These and a few other incongruities rather took the bloom off the rose for me.

But still, for the most part it is an amazingly well done production and, even with the above concerns, I highly recommend it.

[box_light]Craig Nolan Highley has been active in local theatre as an actor, director and producer for more than 13 years. He has worked with Bunbury Theater, Clarksville Little Theatre, Finnigan Productions, Louisville Repertory Company, Savage Rose Classical Theatre Co., and WhoDunnit Murder Mystery Theatre among others. He has been a member of the Wayward Actors Company since 2006, and currently serves as their Board President. Craig’s reviews have also appeared in TheatreLouisville and Louisville Mojo.[/box_light]